‘Crown of Starlight’ Review – Welp.
I have access to this book because one of my close friends let me borrow her ARC. While many consider their reviews to be external guides to help or spark discussions with other readers, I have primarily considered my reviews to be more internal reflections. I write reviews because I find it interesting to discuss…
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‘The Deep Sky’ Review – Where No Man Has Gone Before
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced reader copy! The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei is classified as a sci-fi thriller, but it’s more meditative than that’d imply. Humanity’s crumbling into the sea, and in a last burst of hope, they launch 80 young adults into space to reach a new inhabitable planet. The crew of…
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‘Fourth Wing’ Review – The Aesthetics of War
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is backed by the Tiktok Hype Industrial Complex and I’ve got FOMO. I am going to make one thing quite clear. This is not an unbiased review. I did not go into this book with an open mind. I typically don’t like this vein of fantasy romance, but normally it’s…
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‘Untethered Sky’ Review – Drag Before a Great Lift
Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee is a neat novella that flies slow and low to the ground. Inspired by Persian and Arab mythology, the central focus of the story are rocs, enormous birds of prey. Or, more specifically, it follows Ester, a young woman who rises from apprentice to full-fledged ruhker, someone who raises and…
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Race Without Racism in Fantasy
When I was in college, I took an anthropology class. Its first midterm asked, “Is race real? Is it important?” Maybe it was phrased a little differently, but that was the gist of it. Though I knew the answer, I pulled at my hair at the idea of condensing it onto the four lines provided.…
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‘The Magician’s Daughter’ Review – Warm and Witty
Many thanks to NetGalley and Redhood Books for the arc of The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry. Had fun with this one. The novel follows Biddy, a sixteen-year-old who washed ashore an isolated and secret magical island as a baby and was raised by the mage who inhabits it. Though she loves her home, she’s…
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Ranking the 18 Classics I Read in 2022
Somehow, “Classics” was my second most read genre in 2022, right after Fantasy. To be honest, I read a lot of short ones and they added up. I find reading classics helpful for my personal development. Older books from different eras, which have withstood the test of time, allow me to think about literature differently.…
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‘The Stardust Thief’ Review – A Love Letter to Stories
For some reason, I can’t name many SWANA-set fantasy books written by SWANA authors- especially in the adult category. I have no doubt that they exist, but they simply do not possess the same word-of-mouth hype that really sells books. I don’t know how this happened. I’m sure a lot of this has to do…
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‘Seven Faceless Saints’ Review – Una Delusione
Before we get into this review of Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb, let us take a moment to thank netgalley and Little, Brown for the arc. All quotes have been taken from the advanced reader copy, check with the final published copy. In war-torn Ombrazia, it’s a death sentence if you’re born without magic.…
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existing ironically 